Eight Last Minute Things YOU Can Do to Recognize International Women’s Day – March 8th

International Women’s Day is this Wednesday but it’s not too late to celebrate!

For Peace Corps Nicaragua Volunteers, RPCVs, or anyone else, it’s not too late to plan an activity for International Women’s Day this Wednesday the eighth! International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. Often, the day is recognized, but the meaning of the day is overlooked. Here are eight ideas for how you can recognize March 8.
1. Promote respect towards women by posting these fliers at your school, health centers,
local shops, or workplace.

2. Start a gender themed book club with friends or members of your community. One great pick is “I am Malala” (“Yo Soy Malala”).

3. Give a talk about the importance and meaning of International Women’s Day at school, a health center, a youth group, or at the maternal shelter. See some project ideas here.

4. If you’re a PCV, try to incorporate a gender component into your regularly scheduled class about business, English, health, or the environment.

5. Invite a friend to go on a walk or jog in your community, and talk about women’s issues along the way.

6. Hashtag your activism with #BeBoldForChange on Twitter or Facebook.

7. Show a film or make a presentation about an inspirational woman. If possible, choose a woman who is still working towards gender equality today, to show what women are capable of in today’s world.

8. PCVs: Celebrate women’s achievements by interviewing a woman or girl from your site for the GAD photo collection! (See below for further instructions!)

Click here for more information on the history of International Women’s Day:

GAD Photo Collection:We want as many PCVs as possible to submit a photograph of a woman or girl from their community to be part of a collection of photographs. All you need to do is talk to a female you think is a good role model, has an interesting story, or is just great. Ask her some brief questions, send us the answers and a photograph of her that you think reflects who she is and what makes her awesome! Before interviewing her, ask her if she’s OK with being in a Facebook photo album with one of her answers as the caption. Explain that we want to celebrate women and girls from all over Nicaragua as a celebration of International Women’s Day.

On March 7, 8, and 9 we will update the Facebook album and tag each PCV in the album, then you can tag the woman you interviewed if she has Facebook. The idea is for both Americans and Nicaraguans to see the album, and to read and see what makes women so strong and incredible.